LivingSocial cuts 400 jobs worldwide

Online deals company LivingSocial is cutting 400 jobs worldwide, or about 9 percent of its work force, as the deals market continues to face challenges.

LivingSocial spokesman Andrew Weinstein said Thursday that all but a few dozen of the cuts are in the United States. The company's sales force faced the highest number of cuts, while others are in customer service and editorial. LivingSocial says it is moving its customer service operations to Tucson, Ariz., from Washington, where it has its headquarters.

Weinstein said the job cuts came as part of a review of LivingSocial's global operations. He said the review was designed to make sure that the company has the resources it needs to invest in areas that are "critical to the future," such as marketing and mobile.

The move comes a day after the CEO of rival Groupon Inc., Andrew Mason, said "it would be weird" if his board wasn't discussing whether he was the right guy for the job amid the company's poor stock performance. His possible ouster was reported by AllThingsD and elsewhere.

Amazon.com Inc. has a small stake in LivingSocial, which is a privately held company.